Bassikounou

Bassikounou (H5)

Bassikounou, Hodh Ech Chargui, Mauritania

Fall: 16 October 2006; 04:00 UTC

Ordinary chondrite (H5)

A massive fireball split the sky over northern Mauritania and southern
Western Sahara. Many people saw the meteorite fall, and later that day,
local people began finding the black stones strewn across the desert.
The strewnfield is massive, more than 23 km long, likely much larger.
Hundreds of stones were found, with an unknown total known weight, but
more than 100 kilograms. This meteorite was bought up by the collecting
community pretty rapidly, and I myself purchased more than 30 kilograms
of stones. Most of the meteorites I bought are being locked away in
secure storage for the future. I must sell a few to offset the
major investment though.